Friday, November 25, 2016

A KILLER LOCATIONBy Sarah T. Hobart

Synopsis

As this captivating cozy mystery series featuring real estate agent Sam Turner continues, a dream home turns into a crime scene when murder intrudes on an open house.

Thanks to a few sales and a self-help book on becoming a super-agent, Sam Turner is well on her way to becoming real estate royalty in Arlinda, her eccentric hometown on the Northern California coast. And after settling into her new house with her teenage son, she’s finally a homeowner, too. Sure, things aren’t perfect—for example, her sister still doesn’t know that Sam is dating her ex, police chief Bernie Aguilar—but perfect is boring. And Sam’s life is never boring.

When Sam’s boss, Everett Sweet, assigns her an open house in Arlinda’s most exclusive neighborhood, she brushes up on her super-agent tips, hoping to wow potential buyers. But there’s nothing in the manual about stumbling upon the owner’s dead body halfway through the tour. When suspicion falls on her boss, Sam and her co-workers are suddenly out of work, their real estate licenses suspended. Now, with her job on the line and a mortgage to pay, Sam will need every trick in the book to clear Everett’s name.

About The Author –

Sarah Hobart is a real estate agent and former newspaper reporter in Northern California, where she lives with her husband and two children in a majestic fixer-upper overlooking State Highway 101.

I really enjoyed this funny cozy mystery. The characters are well developed and boy do they give readers lots to laugh about. It's not everyday that a real estate agent shows a house and ends up with more than she bargained for. Let me introduce you to the star of the book. Sam Turner is very sweet and wants to impress her boss. She believes she can be the next top seller of homes and is given a chance to do an open house on her own.

I loved how the author gave great details about showing homes and allowing Sam to really shine throughout the story. Ok it's her big day. Hair in place. Check. Keys to the house. Check. House ready to show. Check. Potential buyers arriving check and check. This is where the fun really begins. I have gone to a couple of open houses just to see what it looks like inside. I wanted to see the decor and dream of owning the perfect house. Perhaps these potential buyers will find their dream home. Sam is ready for her flood of customers so let the bidding begin.

There seems to be an assortment of people parading through the house but is anyone really there to buy ? Perhaps the couple who accidental borrowed some of the paintings, vases etc will come back . I'm sure they just wanted to look at the beautiful things to help them decide if they wanted to buy the house. Or perhaps the lovely person who brings their flea infested, muddy paws dog into the home wanted to see how dirty a carpet could get. The list of characters goes on and each with their own quirky agendas for being at the open house.

One of the best parts of the book is when Sam decides that the house needed an aroma of baked cookies. So off she goes to the kitchen to bake cookies and suddenly everything stops. What did Sam find in the cookie mix? Will it lead to a possible crime? Will the discovery of a dead body in the backyard put a halt to the open house?

The story moves at a great pace and has enough mystery to keep readers glued to the pages. It is always fun to try to guess who the killer is in cozy mysteries but this one was a hard one. I loved how the author had you so sure you had figured out the killer then boom, another suspect hits you in the face. Make sure and grab your copy of this fun mystery.

I received a copy of this book from Great Escapes Book Tour. The review is my own opinion and I was not compensated for it.